Month: December 2014

According to Goodreads I have read around 33 books this year. Looking back through the list I thought it would be fun to highlight on this blog my favorite books of the year. They were eight books that I gave 5 star ratings to on Goodreads. It is an interesting list of titles. Among them are four books written by men and four by women. There are also four indie published titles and four traditionally published by major publishing houses. I didn’t plan it this way. It’s just how it worked out. So here’s the list in the order I read them with links to my reviews on Goodreads.

David Nichols – Starter for Ten – This book (a present from my good friend, Larry) is a nostalgia book for me. I grew up watching University Challenge with my mother and was in college in the early 80s just like the lead character. I loved (and also recommend) Nichols’ One Day to everyone. This one, however, will resonate best with those of my generation who grew up in England.

Rainbow Rowell – Fangirl– This was a feel-good for me this year. I particularly love that Rowell wrote this originally as a NaNoWriMo project. My daughter writes a lot of fanfiction, so I’m familiar with the world of fanfics and really enjoyed the characters and the story here.

Dawn Hawkins – Danny’s Grace – Hawkins touches on some tough subjects in her debut novel about an aging rock star recovering from addiction and abuse. Another indie author that needs more attention.

Fiona Skye – Taming Shadows – This was probably the most fun I had reading a book this year and I anxiously await the next part in this series.

Neil Gaiman – Neverwhere – One of those book that I had serious withdrawal symptoms from after I finished, not willing to leave its world. Growing up in London, I was tickled by Gaiman’s alternate underground system and still worry about those shepherds in Shepherd’s Bush!

Dear Santa Paws,
Now let’s get something straight. I’m not dreaming of a white Christmas. Never did get the attraction to snow. Nasty, yucky, stuff—makes my fur all wet. So if you could keep it away this December that would be great. Better still how about a sunny December in Hawaii instead? Then I could lounge on the beach and take a nice long catnap. Then when I wake up, the waiter will serve me a fresh fish on a platter. Yes, that’s what I want for Christmas
(and a new catnip mouse would be nice.)
Yours Sincerely,
Fluffy

Each day I will be posting a new puzzle and having a giveaway of one of my books.

Today’s book is Sins of the Past. This anthology of historic horror stories is the first I not only contributed to, but also edited. My story, Griddlebone, features werecats in World War II, Vienna. I will be reading my story on the radio in the end of January. Full details coming soon. In the meantime here’s your chance to win an ebook of Sins of the Past.

As this is the holiday season – for every giveaway the winner can choose either to take the ebook themselves or gift it to a friend! For one chance of winning an ebook of Sins of the Past, comment on this page and tell me which historical period would you most like to visit and why? For more chances of winning head over to my puzzle page or the FB event! Also on my puzzle page I will be running a week long puzzle hunt with a grand prize of an autographed copy of the soon to be released, Paws4Logic.

Every evening of the event I am thrilled to be hosting a variety of authors. We have three guests tonight starting at 5 pm (central time) .

Each day I will be posting a new puzzle and having a giveaway of one of my books.

Today’s book is Heroes & Villains. This anthology was created by Facebook’s Fiction Writers’ Group and includes my story, Alistair. Those of you who have read P.A.W.S. know who that is!

As this is the holiday season – for every giveaway the winner can choose either to take the ebook themselves or gift it to a friend! For one chance of winning an ebook of Heroes & Villains, comment on this page and tell me who your favorite villain is (from either a book or a movie)? For more chances of winning head over to my puzzle page or the FB event! Also on my puzzle page I will be running a week long puzzle hunt with a grand prize of an autographed copy of the soon to be released, Paws4Logic.

Every evening of the event I am thrilled to be hosting a variety of authors. We have two guests tonight starting at 7 pm (central time) .

One of the great things about self-publishing is that we learn by doing.

Author Fiona Skye released a novel called Faerie Tales about a year ago, and while she was quite satisfied with the novel itself, she wasn’t entirely happy with either the title or the cover. Unwilling to let it stand, she came up with a new title and engaged the talented Rachel Bostwick to make a new cover, and here it is: